Do you drive? What do you drive? What are your experiences?

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Aspie-Mom
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23 May 2005, 8:56 pm

I've never had any major problems driving. When I was in my teens I was insane behind the wheel. I think I had that whole teenagers think they are indestructible thing going on. I also learned to drive in Southern California :)

My last moving violation was in 1994. That year I got my first, and only, speeding ticket. The funny thing is that by that time I didn't really speed anymore. I honestly thought the road was a 35MPH zone, but it was only 25. I was also involved in a minor fender bender. There were 3 cars involved, but I was the only one that got a ticket. hhmmmmm

Now I am a school bus driver. My biggest distraction is the radio to our dispatch. I'm afraid to tune it out because I might not hear them call me, then they'll get mad. So instead I find myself listening to it, which is really distracting, since people are constantly talking. I had a stereo installed in my bus, and that doesn't bother me at all. As a amtter of fact, it's a sanity saver much of the time.

My cars in order (some were co-owned with my ex)
1989 Ford Escort
1994 Ford Escort Wagon
1993 Ford Taurus Wagon
2000 Saturn SL1
1992 Nissan Pick-up
1994 Dodge Grand Caravan
2001 Nissan Sentra

My school bus is a 1995 International. It is a 65 capacity regular ed bus. This is my 3rd bus since I've been driving, but the first one I've LOVED. It would be nice if it had an air door, but I'll live. I LOVE my bus, and I told them I don't want an upgrade til I get a brand new one. Which will be quite a few years from now.

Donna



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23 May 2005, 8:56 pm

I failed my first drivers test because I missed a stop sign. Oh well.

Generally, as long as no one else is in the car with me to distract me, I do fine with driving (if there is someone else in the car, I tend to drive slower to the point I have people up my butt and the passenger usually has to remind me to do the speed limit at least). I have been in a couple accidents-- the biggest one was not my fault. My list of accidents: 1. car totaled, 2. hit someone's side after pulling out of the yellow lane and not seeing them, and 3/4. two fender benders.

I can be in la-la land many times, but I have good reaction time and don't space out for long. Mostly, I just get REALLY angry at the idiots that drive on the road, who ride my tail, who speed recklessly-- not just speed but swerving in and out of lanes, etc.-- who don't use their turn signals, people talking on their cell phones, and the list goes on. I am usually fairly grumpy off by the time I have arrived at my destination. I enjoy driving, but I wish I had the roads mostly to myself. I hate people when they are on the roads with me, arssholes mostly the lot of them. :evil: Tailgaiters are my biggest pet peeve.


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NoMore
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23 May 2005, 10:17 pm

I drive a Ford Winstar. I hate driving, but if I have to drive, it will be something big enough to make me feel protected. I drove my son's Toyota Paseo once. ONCE. It was terrifying, being so close to the road and driving down the street looking up at the door handles on the parked cars. 8O

I only drive when my husband is not home to do the driving. He LOVES to drive - he's a professional truck driver and drives 53' rigs every day, up to 3000 miles a week. 8O 8O



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23 May 2005, 10:29 pm

Oh yes, and my list of cars:

1. 1994 Toyota Camry (the one that got totaled)
2. 1996 Ford Explorer Sport (sold to mother)
3. 2001 Hyundai Accent (repossessed)
4. 1992 Jeep Cherokee Laredo (all paid off :D )


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Sanityisoverrated
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24 May 2005, 12:25 am

I don't drive. Too many rules and stuff... the man is always trying to bring us down! :evil:



anbuend
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24 May 2005, 1:23 am

I would probably be a very dangerous driver, but I make a good navigator: I can find my way around just about anywhere. The trouble is that with perceptual issues (including not always seeing moving cars) and motor issues (including sometimes freezing in place without warning) I would be a hazard on the road.


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pizzaboss
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24 May 2005, 9:58 am

I don't drive. I need a lot of practice.



codeman38
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24 May 2005, 2:20 pm

I've already ranted about this in two other threads...

http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... pic&t=1846
http://www.wrongplanet.net/modules.php? ... pic&t=1462

However, it seems that things may be improving. I've gotten tinted lenses that help a lot with my depth perception, which was one of the biggest things that was holding me back... hey, when you can't tell how far away any of the other cars on the road are, driving is always nerve-wracking! :P But yeah, the few times I practiced with the new glasses, things went extremely well in comparison... the stop signs and lights were much more clearly delineated from the background, I could actually feel how close cars were and how quickly they were approaching, and I didn't feel nearly as nervous.

Now if only I could find something resembling a sense of direction... I guess I need to just buy a GPS unit or something. Even with maps, I have to 'translate' them into either a 'web' of landmarks and accompanying directions or at least a linear series of directions-- I can't just connect the map to the 3D world like a lot of people seem to do.



cin
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24 May 2005, 2:54 pm

the most helpful thing i did with driving is i learned to look up. i used to look right in front of the car, which made it impossible to drive straight, keep the car in the lines, etc. but as soon as i started looking up, to the horizon in front of me, my sense of space and my place in it improved.

i had to forget about directional sense, tho. i've driven around here almost 20 years and i can still get lost trying to take a shortcut to work. or i sort of wake up from a daze and don't know where i am or where i'm going.



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24 May 2005, 3:03 pm

My first car was a BRIGHT 8) yellow Pacer.

Looked like an upside down salad bowl but it ran nicely for years.

BeeBee



hale_bopp
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24 May 2005, 3:56 pm

Red Honda Civic.

Started driving at 15.

Would never like to not have a car. Freedom.



Torak
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24 May 2005, 3:59 pm

I passed my test first time in 1996 aged 23.

I bought a Volvo 360 and the alternator died the day I bought it.

3 months later I had a grand-mal seizure in public and got banned. Ban still stands today.

But I admit that I was one of the worst drivers in the entire world, a cross between Speedy Gonzales and Stevie Wonder, with an unhealthy dose of road rage thrown in.



ZedSimon
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24 May 2005, 5:44 pm

Ooh. Torak. Glad you're in the UK and I'm in the US. Wouldn't wanna run into you.

Semi-topic:
Question for you UKers: is that show Driving School still on? We had a network that ran a few episodes of it here and it was as scary as it was funny. Although I do have to sympathize the the drivers in the show.



Torak
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24 May 2005, 5:53 pm

I think Driving School is on satellite tv at the moment.

I'm not sure as don't watch much tv.

Some really bad drivers on that program, even worse than me. I feel sorry for them being a public laughing stock though.

Edited: I should say that when I said 'road rage' earlier, I mean swearing rather loudly and offensively, not confrontational style road rage (not my style at all).



Last edited by Torak on 24 May 2005, 5:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Ante
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24 May 2005, 5:54 pm

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Last edited by Ante on 09 Nov 2005, 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ljbouchard
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24 May 2005, 6:23 pm

Correction - I was driving a 1993 Amtrans Genesis bus until the transmission gave out today. Looks like I will be driving either a 1995 Amtrans Genesis or a 1996 Ward for the rest of the school year.


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